SWINE flu hysteria has begun to hit Huddersfield after a young holidaymaker was banned from going to work.

James Moorhouse, 22, who was holidaying in the popular Mexican resort of Cancun with a friend, has spoken of his shock at returning home to an airport full of mask-wearing paparazzi.

James, from Salendine Nook, was dealt another blow when he was told not to return to work this week by his Huddersfield-based employer.

But James said the global panic was out of control and when he was in Mexico he knew very little about the epidemic.

He said: “We didn’t know anything about it until Tuesday morning when we flew in to Manchester.

“We knew the epidemic had first started there, but it was over in Mexico City, there was nothing in Cancun.

“We’d had a text from my parents back home, but the first we knew was when the pilot told us there would be a health card to fill in and a health screener.

“We came through to arrivals and there were paparazzi everywhere wearing masks, which I thought was a bit much.

“I’m beginning to feel like a leper when I’m absolutely fine.

“People are being very distant, like I’ve got some kind of lurgi.

“Work have been very good, it was a bit of a surprise, but it’s a fairly big company so I do understand why they did it.

“They did consult a doctor and he said it can take a week for the illness to come out.

“I’ve been doing work from home and I’m going back on Monday so it’s only been three days off.”

He added: “If I got the chance I would go back to Mexico tomorrow, it was an amazing holiday.”

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) says the new swine flu virus is highly contagious and is spreading from person to person in the same way as colds and flu.

If someone coughs or sneezes and they do not cover it, those droplets can spread about one metre (3ft).

People very close to them may breath these droplets in.

It can also be spread by being transferred from hands on to surfaces such as door handles and hand rails which are then touched by others.

The single most effective way to stop or slow the spread of diseases such as swine flu is to prevent the spread of germs.

Wash your hands regularly with soap and water and cover your mouth if you cough or sneeze.

Questions and answers on swine flu and how to protect yourself and your family are available on the Health Protection Agency website at www.hpa.org.uk or from the NHS online at www1.nhs.uk/AlertsEmergencies/Pages/Pandemicflualert.aspx

THREE more people in the UK have been diagnosed with swine flu, the Department of Health (DH) said today.

A total of eight people are confirmed as having the disease.

A DH spokesman said: “There have been three more confirmed cases of swine flu in the UK – two in London and one in the North East.

“There are now eight confirmed cases in the UK – six in England, and two in Scotland.

“The preparations we have in place and are continuing to make will help to ensure we respond well in the event of a pandemic.”

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) said 230 possible cases were under investigation.

Of the three new cases, one is understood to involve a patient who lives with two students from Newcastle University.

An HPA spokesman said: “All have mild symptoms and are responding to treatment at home.

“The Health Protection Agency is working to ensure that any close contacts of the three patients are offered anti-virals as a precautionary measure.

“At this stage close contacts who should be offered this are those individuals who have been exposed to a probable or confirmed case within the previous seven days for longer than one hour and within a distance of one metre or less.”